Editor: The lack of respect shown by
The Dispatch for women’s sports was on display again last week. On Tuesday, the day after
the UConn men won their NCAA title, there was a large headline and photo across the front of the
Sports section, with a story that took up nearly the whole front page.

When the women from the same school won their NCAA title on Tuesday night, the Sports section
relegated them to a tiny headline in the right corner below the fold, with a tiny photo as
well.

When will
The Dispatch learn to stop offending its female readers (and male fans of women’s sports)
this way?

— Leyla Hawkins, Worthington

Leyla: It’s a simple explanation: Blue Jackets home game. For the record, I checked back to
2008, and the only times the NCAA women’s championship game wasn’t the main splash on our cover was
the past two years, both of which featured Jackets games in a playoff hunt.

Editor: For those of us who have not bailed on the Jackets, what a pleasurable time it has been
sharing our arena with 6,000 to 7,000 of our closest Pittsburgh and Chicago fans. What an
embarrassment that the franchise and fans have let this happen.

There is something great happening at Nationwide, but a lot of our fans won’t let the past die.
Get off your duffs and get to Nationwide and keep Pittsburgh and Chicago in their rotten
cities!

— Tom Padovan, Columbus

Tom: I object only to the notion of Pittsburgh and Chicago being rotten towns. I can tell you
this: It was a blast to sit in Nationwide on Tuesday night and not hear Coyotes fans squeal every
time Phoenix executed a line change.

Ray: I’m still scratching my head wondering if the quote in (the April 5) “Overheard” was a
late April Fools’ joke. Sadly, I concluded that the quote from Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins was
real. After a whopping seven months with the Jayhawks before declaring for the NBA draft, he
laments his college experience with, “I wish I just had more time. College goes by so
fast."

If he spent more time in college, he might know the meaning of
disingenuous. Division I men’s basketball is a joke with all the “one-and-done”
players. To hear a player say this, apparently in all seriousness, is
stupefying.

— Paul Graham, Worthington

Paul: Wiggins is a first-team All-American, apparently, in one-and-dumb comments.

Mr. Stein: Could you explain why
The Dispatch chose to bury on Page 9 of the (April 4) section the news that Aaron Craft, a
young man who thrilled all of us OSU basketball fans for four years with his incredible plays, was
named the national defensive player of the year?

The front-page article was about Traevon Jackson, his father, Jim, and Wisconsin’s basketball
team. How quickly you forget, and how sad.

— Barbara Miller, Worthington

Barbara: Forgetfulness never entered the equation. We’ve produced about a metric ton of
newsprint on Craft’s career, and deemed this latest accomplishment as merely newsworthy —
especially in light of the crush of news last week.

Mr. Stein: After two solid wins in which the Crew looked sharp, and a third win at Seattle in
which it was lucky to come away with three points, we all thought Toronto, minus some key players,
would be easy and the Crew would be 4-0 for the first time in history.

Well, it wasn’t easy, thanks to some inspired play by Michael Bradley. But the 2-0 loss was
mainly due to lackadaisical, sloppy, uninspired play by the entire Crew team. In a word, they
stunk. Let’s hope Coach Berhalter can light a fire under the players and help them understand
that such a performance was unacceptable.

— Peter Insabella, Dublin

Peter: I take this as a sign of a maturing Crew fan base. Usually, it’s only OSU football and
basketball that travel such a gauntlet of expectations.

Editor: This is about Johnny Carson and UConn. Anyone younger than 30 can search “Carnac the
Magnificent” on YouTube.

Ed McMahon: “The answer is, two in the past four years and four in the past 15.

Carnac the Magnificent: “Two in the past four years and four in the past 15. And the question
is: How many basketball players have graduated from UConn in recent history?”

— John Tripp, Columbus

John: Yes!
Well done, oh, great sage. Just for fun, though, may a sick yak leave a gift in your sock
drawer.